Mudguard advice please.

The Noble Nudge

Kitting the winter bike out.
LBS says put on race blades the half lenght jobs rather than the full mud guard.
Any advice as ive never had them on any bike.
Cheers.

easygoing39

crud roadrace mark 2,your only man.This will be my 4th winter with them on my bike,in fact they are on the bike summer and winter,have fitted them and left on for good.

The Noble Nudge

Are you going for the full length then over race blades??

Cee-Jay-Cee

Crud MkII's here also. They're on the winter/wet weather bike all year round. I highly recommend them.

mattdi22le

+1, for the crud mk2's fitted them 2 weeks ago full length. save you and the bike.

07Lapierre

At €700, these are expensive mudguards...but you get a FREE Winter bike!

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bbd/road-track-bike/ribble-7005-audax-winter-training?part=BB14AW7005

oconnpad

+1 on Crud MkII's

The extra protection around front derailleur is great.

Only thing is i can only get 23mm tyres on to my bike with them on, so just keep that in mind you might get 25mm on if you have them or you might not.

Put electrical tapes on the frame where they fix to the stays / forks, i didn't the 1st year and have loads of little scratches in the area from rub, doesn't really bother me as i've old bike for winter but if they are going on your pride and joy i'd put tape on.

BikeRacer

Race blades. Take 10 mins to fit and easily taken off and put on again in no time.
I had Cruds last year, in 2 months they fell apart and cracked. Also a pain in the ass to fit. Never again.

nilhg

Winter bike = more or less permanent mudguards, if the OPs bike has the clearance and mountings for them then I'd suggest SKS chromoplastics, once on much less fiddly and likely to rub than Cruds

onthefringe

very very dependant on the bike you have...
if youve no mounts for proper old school fixed guards use P clips... get them in any good hardware shop- basically an aluminium band lined with rubber...
rock solid ..
ive even mounted panniers with them

frosty90

I use Crud mk2s aswell. Fiddly and slow to fit but once on the bike they do a great job and you barely notice they are there! Can't see myself bothering to take them off next summer, they are very light!

mattdi22le

there great all right, but i cant wait to get them off when the weather turns, change the look of the bike too much.

cython

Before people recommend specific guards, can the OP confirm whether or not their winter bike might have eyelets for full guards? I'd guess not if the LBS is recommending raceblades, but it'd be a shame to recommend compromises like them and Cruds if the bike could in fact take full guards. I made that very mistake (though at the time my now winter bike/commuter was my only bike and I wanted to be able to remove the guards easily), and never again.

FWIW, I had the cruds on a bike with 24c tyres, and to be honest the clearances were very tight, and I'm looking to pick up a set of Raceblade XLs instead. This is a stopgap for me in that they should fit my Canyon Endurace if needed, but will also go on aforementioned commuter/winter bike until I can spare the cash to pick up a second set of guards, which will be full length, mounted proper ones. The Raceblade Longs also look like a sturdier alternative to the cruds also, albeit more expensive to boot.

EDIT: f you're looking for raceblades specifically, don't be afraid to look online - they're trivial enough to fit (just put tape at the contact points to protect the finish) and generally a hell of a lot cheaper. For example, Bike Discount have them for about a tenner cheaper than most LBS (RRP seems to be €45 here) even with paying 8 quid for shipping.

Plastik

Cruds are not the mudguards for you if you regularly transport the bike in the boot of a car and need to take the wheels off. They're very flimsy and will break easily. I've also used SKS Raceblade Long but they persistently broke at the mounts - a friend also lost two front teeth because of one of the mounts breaking and the mudguard jamming the front tyre.

I've settled on SKS Raceblades for the training bike (not the Longs). They attach with rubber bands. They offer poor overall protection compared to the Cruds but they keep the worst of everything off and they're super easy to remove/refit from the bike.

Wishbone Ash

BikeRacer wrote: »

...I had Cruds last year, in 2 months they fell apart and cracked..

I tried them a few years ago and they also became brittle and fell apart after a couple of months of winter riding. They also required constant adjustment to prevent insanity. I'd rather be wet now.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I tried them a few years ago and they also became brittle and fell apart after a couple of months of winter riding. They also required constant adjustment to prevent insanity. I'd rather be wet now.

Mine have been on the bike 2 years now and have seen a lot of cold wet winter (and summer) spins and it hasn't done them any harm.

They're made from fairly hard plastic so I can't see how they become brittle and fall apart???

Wishbone Ash

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

...They're made from fairly hard plastic so I can't see how they become brittle and fall apart???

In my experience they seem to get even harder and that makes them brittle as there's no 'give' in them. If they were softer, they wouldn't get brittle.

Plastik

I found that the long extensions on the front and rear of Cruds were prone to breaking extremely easily and while the remaining bits would do a reasonable job of keeping you dry, the back was useless at stopping the spray for group riding.

The Noble Nudge

cython wrote: »

Before people recommend specific guards, can the OP confirm whether or not their winter bike might have eyelets for full guards? I'd guess not if the LBS is recommending raceblades, but it'd be a shame to recommend compromises like them and Cruds if the bike could in fact take full guards. I made that very mistake (though at the time my now winter bike/commuter was my only bike and I wanted to be able to remove the guards easily), and never again.

FWIW, I had the cruds on a bike with 24c tyres, and to be honest the clearances were very tight, and I'm looking to pick up a set of Raceblade XLs instead. This is a stopgap for me in that they should fit my Canyon Endurace if needed, but will also go on aforementioned commuter/winter bike until I can spare the cash to pick up a second set of guards, which will be full length, mounted proper ones. The Raceblade Longs also look like a sturdier alternative to the cruds also, albeit more expensive to boot.

EDIT: f you're looking for raceblades specifically, don't be afraid to look online - they're trivial enough to fit (just put tape at the contact points to protect the finish) and generally a hell of a lot cheaper. For example, Bike Discount have them for about a tenner cheaper than most LBS (RRP seems to be €45 here) even with paying 8 quid for shipping.

Would of helped in OP to mention the bike they are going on Specialized allez elite.
It's just a matter whetter long or short will keep me dryest longest.
I find the spray off the front soaks my feet....noticed last night the spray off the front tyre projects from the front brake and going downhill pisses back on top of you...
The back just soaks your back side giving a squidgy arse for 2 hours...can do without it really...
I'll never be dry but it's a damage limitation exercise...
Thanks for the voice of experience people I'll read all later when I get the chance.

rollingscone

I guess it wouldn't be a mudguard fitting without losing a bolt....